Manitoba chief wants people who think they were switched at birth to come forward
Luke Monias and Norman Barkman recently discovered they were switched at birth in 1975
The Chief of Norway House Cree Nation is calling on his community members to come forward if they think there's a chance they might have been switched at birth with another baby.
The call comes after two men discovered they were switched at birth at a federally run hospital in Norway House in 1975.
Luke Monias and Norman Barkman were born on June 19, 1975, at Norway House Indian Hospital and grew up as close friends in northern Manitoba's Garden Hill First Nation.
After a lifetime of suspicion that they belonged to each other's families, and numerous comments about how much more they resembled their friend's parents instead of their own, the men took DNA tests, which confirmed the switch.
Norway House Chief Ron Evans said he feels for the two men switched at birth and it's unfortunate the hospital in his community was responsible.
Evans wants anyone who has suspicions that something similar may have happened to them should come forward for DNA testing.
"If it happened once, it's possible it happened before or it happened after, but what we say is, you know, we're hoping that if there's families that think it happened to them, we encourage them to come forward," he said.
He said he and his council will do what they can to get the funds together for the tests.
Garden Hill is about 200 kilometres by air east of Norway House. Both communities are located in northern Manitoba.